"Breathe in and out." I commanded Morgan, my voice firm but soothing. "That's it, baby girl." I murmured when she shakily began doing as I instructed.

  When she was calm, I stood up and looked at Adrian. His jaw was clenched as he showed me the screen of her cellphone.

  Miss you, Darlin'.

  It was a simple enough message, but it was enough to send her into a panic attack, which was enough to tell me that whoever sent that message wasn't a good person, and they had set out to hurt her.

  "Who is that?" I asked Morgan, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked down at her. As much as I didn’t want to see her hurt or terrified again, I had to know who this person was that instilled so much fear into her. I had to be able to protect her.

  She sighed. "The only person who fucking calls me 'darlin'' is Joey's ex-best-friend, Brent. We were together for a while after Joey brought me here to Washington, but something happened, and Brent snapped - beat the shit out of me for no reason. He just came home so damn angry that day, and I was the closest thing he had to take his anger out on." She told me, staring down at her lap. She linked her hands together in her lap right as I saw them begin to tremble. It was something she always did to try to hide her fear from others.

  She swallowed hard. "I called the police as soon as I could, and they arrested him." She blew out a breath. "Turns out he was a convicted criminal - murder, grand theft, arson." She looked up at me. "He told me he'd make me pay when he got out." She shook her head, blowing out another breath. "I had always told myself there was no fucking possible way he would get out, not with everything on his record, but he sure as hell did apparently."

  I looked at Adrian. Adrian was clenching his jaw. "How did he get this number?" Adrian asked her. "Drew and I made sure your number wouldn't pop up anywhere."

  Morgan shrugged, but then cursed softly. "Fucking Joey." She muttered. "You guys haven't changed my number since Joey took me, have you?"

  I shook my head. "You think Joey gave it to Brent?" I asked her.

  Morgan snorted, shaking her head. "Oh, I don't think. I know." She retorted.

  I looked at Adrian. "Trash that phone. I don't want to run any chance of him finding out where she is. Get her a new one with a new number, and get an area code that's not from here. Take every damn precaution you can think of." I looked down at Morgan. "When you're healed, we're going out. I want him to see you on my arm, to show him he may want to rethink his fucking decision to come anywhere near you."

  Fuck, I just needed her healed - and soon.

  Seventeen

  Morgan's POV

  I shrugged on my leather jacket, checking my appearance one more time in the mirror. My bruises had faded, and the only thing left on my body and face were the few scars I had obtained in the past couple of weeks.

  And when I say scars, I mean scars – not scabs. I had a scar right above my eyebrow where that bastard's ring had continuously cut my face, and I had another one across my cheek.

  I ran my fingers through my dark hair and walked out of the bathroom, meeting Drew in the living room. He looked up from his phone when I entered, running his eyes over me with blatant hunger. I swallowed hard at the desire in his eyes. "Damn, I never thought I would have actually missed seeing you in your normal clothes." He murmured. "There's just something about you in a leather jacket." He admitted huskily.

  I rolled my eyes at him, a small smile playing on my lips. "Are we going or not?" I asked him, gesturing towards the door.

  He grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. "Where are we going, anyway?" I asked him as we stopped in front of the elevator to go down to the underground parking garage.

  "We're going to have dinner with the manager of Michael's Bar and Grille." He told me. "Apparently, one of the employees has been stealing money at night, and he's going to fill me in on the details so I can deal with the situation properly."

  I chewed on my bottom lip nervously. "Drew, what if that person was stealing the money for a good reason?" I asked him.

  Drew gave a careless shrug. "Then they face the consequences." He told me bluntly, not showing an ounce of sympathy. "I don't allow for any fuck ups in my businesses, and I won't start now."

  I just sighed, but I didn’t say anything else on the subject, though I disagreed with his method for handling business. It just went to show that no matter how much Drew and I seemed compatible, we were really two different people.

  When we reached the restaurant, Drew led me to a back booth that was secluded from the other patrons. A younger man, probably in his late twenties to early thirties sat in the booth. Tattoos ran up his arms and disappeared under his short sleeve button up, reappearing on his neck.

  I froze when my eyes landed on his face, almost falling forward when Drew continued walking, not realizing that I had stopped moving.

  The man arched an eyebrow at me. "Well, well, Morgan, it's been a while." The man commented.

  I scowled, ignoring Drew's eyes on me as I moved forward and took a seat, crossing my arms over my chest in a defensive manner. "It hasn't been nearly long enough." I snapped, making Brent's older brother smirk at me.

  Kasey was an asshole through and through, and when I had gotten his brother sent to prison, he hadn't been too damn happy with me. He'd booted me out on my ass from his brother's apartment, leaving me to fend for myself. He hadn't even been nice enough to give me my wallet or a change of my own damn clothes.

  And he'd made damn sure no one helped me.

  Which led to my downwards spiral back into drugs.

  "I see you haven't lost that smart-ass mouth of yours." Kasey commented.

  Before I could open my mouth to give him some kind of smart-ass retort, Drew spoke up, his voice low and holding a clear warning. "If you want your life, I'd advise you to watch how the fuck you talk to her." Drew stated.

  Kasey leaned back against the back of the booth, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked between the two of us for a moment. "Are you two together or something?" Kasey finally asked.

  At both mine and Drew's silence, Kasey snorted. "Oh, this is fucking fantastic." He snapped. "You sure do know how to get yourself caught up in some shit, don't you, Morgan?"

  "What the fuck do you mean?" I snapped back at him, my eyes meeting his with a harsh glare.

  "I fucking booted you out of Brent's apartment the second he went to prison to keep you safe, Morgan." Kasey told me, shaking his head. "I made sure not one goddamn person from that circle would help you to keep him from finding out anything about you when he got out. I was hoping you'd fucking leave the state and start somewhere new, but obviously you were dumber than I thought." He retorted.

  I clenched my jaw, noting how silent Drew was during this exchange. I knew he was soaking in as much information as he could. It was what Drew did. He would only step in if something Kasey said pissed him off.

  "What was I going to do - fucking walk the entire goddamn way?" I asked him, seething. "I didn't have shit, Kasey. I couldn't get a goddamn bus out of the state because you refused to give me any of my fucking documents - not even my damn driver's license."

  "You didn't need shit that could possibly tie you down there." Kasey told me. "Brent was no damn good for you, Morgan. I tried telling you that from the very fucking beginning of you two seeing each other, but you wouldn't listen. All you heard were his promises to make your life better, but he only ruined you in the end like I knew he would."

  I remembered Kasey's warnings clear as day in my head, but at that time, I had thought he was only being his normal asshole self. I hadn't thought he was genuinely trying to protect me.

  "He's out, you know." Kasey said when I stayed silent.

  "I know." I muttered, glaring at the table in front of me. "He managed to text me a week ago. I haven't heard from him since."

  Kasey sighed. "He's pretty fucking pissed about you getting him arrested, Morgan. If you had any sense, you'd run as far away from this damn place as you can."

  "She has no reason to." Drew spoke up, drawing Kasey's eyes to him. "Morgan has been staying with me. Between me and my men, she will be safe and protected." Drew let his cold, emotionless eyes meet Kasey's, and I saw Kasey flinch back slightly. Drew was definitely intimidating when he wanted to be. "Let your little brother know that if he dares to initiate any kind of contact with Morgan or come anywhere near her again, I will make him disappear."

  Kasey nodded jerkily, showing he understood. Drew leaned back. "Now, let's get to the real reason of why we're here." Drew said, moving the conversation on to what we were actually here for. "What have you got for me?"

  "I caught Lacey - one of the bartenders - taking money out of the drawer at night and taking wallets from some of the drunker patrons at night time." Kasey said. "I haven't fired her - per your request. I just told her that she needed to be here when you showed up. She's in the back."

  Drew nodded. "Go get her for me." He commanded.

  Kasey stood up and walked behind the bar, disappearing through a door. Drew looked over at me. "I'm surprised Kasey would have tried to help you." Drew admitted when Kasey disappeared into the back. "He's an asshole."

  I snorted. "You aren't the only one that's surprised." I told him honestly.

  Drew grabbed my hand, bringing it up to his lips to place a light kiss on my knuckles, lightly nipping the skin. My breath hitched in my throat as I felt my stomach muscles clench with desire. He smirked. "Later." He promised huskily.

  He dropped my hand when Kasey came out of the back with a pretty blonde girl. Her face was slightly sunken in, but you wouldn't notice unless you studied her hard. Her hands were trembling, and her face paled when she saw Drew sitting in the booth she was headed to.

  I gripped Drew's thigh, making him to face me. I had noticed the spots on her arm where she'd obviously injected a needle. "Drew, I think she's on heroine." I told him softly. "Look at her arms."

  Drew looked at her arms, his jaw clenching as soon as he saw what I was looking at. As soon as she sat down, Drew swung his icy blue eyes to her, making her flinch back. I squeezed his thigh again in a warning to go easy on her. "Who's your dealer?" Drew demanded angrily.

  So much for going easy on her.

  Lacey's eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing like a fish as she scrambled for something to say. "I - I don't know what you're talking about." She finally stuttered.

  I sighed, leaning forward. "Lacey," I said, drawing her attention to me, "you're looking at the master of shooting heroine up her arm. I noticed the marks on your arm as soon as you stepped out of the back. I'd advise you to tell Drew who your dealer is."

  Her bottom lip trembled as she tried hard not to cry. "I don't know." She whispered. "Every time I meet him, he keeps his face covered with a hood."

  Drew cursed, pinching the bridge of his nose. I knew right then who she was talking about. She was talking about the handsome man sitting beside me.

  "Why were you stealing money and wallets?" Drew demanded angrily, locking his eyes on hers again, deciding not to venture further onto the subject of her heroine dealer.

  "I owe five hundred to my dealer." She said softly, though, judging by Drew's unchanging expression, he already knew that. "He gave me a week to get the money to him."

  I looked up at Drew. He had his jaw clenched angrily, and I could see the barely controlled rage in his eyes. I looked at Kasey. He didn't seem all that shocked, and it was then that I realized that he knew of Drew's illegal business as well. He just met my eyes coolly, looking back at the scene unfolding in front of him slowly.

  "Your week is up." Drew snarled, clenching his fists as if it would keep his rage contained. "Not only did you fucking rip me off five hundred dollars, but you fucking stole money from me and other patrons that I now have to fucking play nice with and pay back."

  Tears streamed down Lacey's cheeks. "Drew -" I whispered, but he shot his cold eyes to me, making me shut my mouth and swallow hard.

  Boy, he could really be terrifying when he wanted to be.

  "Not now, Morgan." He snarled.

  I glared at him angrily, clenching my fists in my lap. "You might be pissed right now, but watch how the fuck you talk to me." I snarled. His eyes flashed dangerously, and it took everything in me not to cower away from him. "The girl was obviously trying to get you your money." I snapped at him. "Be easier on her."

  Drew looked like it was taking everything in him not to throw everything off of the table in anger. "Watch your fucking mouth." Drew snapped at me, only serving to piss me off further. "You know as well as I do that people don't get off easily when they fuck me over."

  "I did." I reminded him, my voice shaking with how furious I was with him. "I was prepared for you to put a bullet through my skull, but you decided not to."

  "Because I fucking needed you to do something for me." He reminded me, his jaw clenched angrily. "You were a means to a fucking end, Morgan."

  I reached up and slapped him, my hand stinging from how hard I hit him. "You're a fucking bastard." I snarled.

  I swear, if Drew were a cartoon character, steam would have been pouring out of his ears right then. He was fucking livid, and he looked like he was barely controlling himself from tossing me across the fucking restaurant.

  "Get the fuck out of here." Drew snarled at me, standing up from the booth.

  "Gladly." I snapped at him.

  I walked out of the restaurant, storming off down the road.

  A means to a fucking end.

  I was never anything fucking more, and to have ever thought I was had just been a fucking a joke.

  At that damn point, I was fucking hoping Brent would find me.

  My phone went off, and I pulled it out of my pocket to see Adrian's name pop up on my screen. I hit ignore, turning to walk down an alley. "It's not nice to ignore calls." I heard Adrian call from behind me.

  I turned to look at him, my jaw clenched. I was still fucking furious. "Fuck off." I snarled at him.

  "Drew was pissed, Morgan. You know that as well as I do. You know he didn't mean a fucking word of what he said." He told me.

  "I thought he was 'Boss'?" I snapped. "Are you a fucking liar, too?" I demanded.

  Adrian shook his head at me. "Shit with me and Drew is complicated, Morgan, and it's a long damn story. But you need to get back to that restaurant. Drew sent me after you to bring you back to him."

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and threw it at Adrian. He caught it easily before it could hit him in the chest. "If Drew wanted me, Drew would come after me.” I snarled. “Tell your boss I said to go fuck himself and find someone else to fucking lie to because I'm done."

  "Why don't you tell him yourself?" I heard Drew speak up from behind me.

  I swung around to face him. His face was blood red where I had slapped him. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, sighing. "Morgan, I'm sorry." He admitted softly.

  "Stuff your apology." I snarled at him. "I don't want to fucking hear something that doesn't mean a goddamn thing coming from you."

  He sighed, pushing one of his hands through his hair roughly. "Look, Morgan, I obviously have a lot to learn about relationships." He admitted, his baby blue eyes filled with torment and slight fear locking on mine. I swallowed hard. Had I put that look in his eyes? "Yes, you were a means to an end - at the time." He stressed to me. "But dammit, baby girl, don't you realize you've come to mean so much more to me than that? Jesus, woman, I have ruined my own damn men for what they've done to you.” He threw his hand in the direction of Adrian who was still standing behind me. “I punched my best friend in the face because he upset you. I don't lose my shit over a woman, and yet I've lost it numerous times over you."

  I crossed my arms over my chest, trying my damnest to keep my defenses up, though that was proving to be extremely hard against him, especially when I could hear the desperation in his voice for me to understand him.

  "I'm tired of being hurt by you over and over again, Drew. I'm tired of thinking I finally get somewhere with you, and then we take thousands of steps back." I admitted, swallowing down the tears that threatened to spill over out of my eyes.

  Drew sighed. I saw him itching to come towards me, to wrap me up in his arms, but he clenched his jaw, keeping his feet rooted where he was at. And that spoke more volumes than I wanted to admit. The fact that he wasn't using his touch to win me back over said a lot about how much he wanted me back.

  "I know, Morgan, and I'm sorry." He said softly. "The moment you walked out of those restaurant doors, fear like I've never experienced rushed through me, and I was terrified I would never see you again, never get to hold you again. Christ, woman, I left an extremely important meeting, let a woman that owes me a shit ton of money off the hook because I was terrified of letting you slip through my fingers again. The old Drew would never even think about getting upset over a woman, and yet, here I am."

  My bottom lip trembled, and as hard as I had tried to hold it back, a tear fell down my cheek. I walked forward and wrapped my arms around his waist tightly. Drew sighed, his body instantly relaxing as he wrapped his own arms around me, holding me tight to him, resting his cheek on top of my head.

  "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The voice from my nightmares spoke up, making me stiffen in Drew’s arms.

  Eighteen

  Drew quickly yanked me behind him, drawing me tight against his back at the sound of Brent. Adrian had his gun trained on him, daring him to make a move towards us.

  "You sure do have a soft spot for us criminals, don't you, Morgan?" Brent asked. I gripped Drew’s jacket in my hands to keep them from trembling. "Are you doing his dirty work for him like you used to do mine?"

 

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